The Cost of Incoming Sales Calls

Peter Prestipino

Posted on 8.06.2012

The cost of generating an incoming sales call from Google Adwords is nearly twice as expense as compared to similar advertisements on the YP Local Ad Network according to a new study from Altman Vilandrie & Co.

The study revealed that ads from YP (formerly known as AT&T Interactive and AT&T Advertising Solutions) had an average cost-per-call of $46 compared to $88 for AdWords. In addition, of the 56 companies receiving calls from both YP ads and Google ads, 77% realized better value (lower cost-per-call) from YP ads. The Altman Vilandrie study also compared how various types of businesses fare used both a YP ad and Google ad. Of the 20 categories studied, 17 showed better cost-per-call value through the YP ads.

"Advertising and search experts have theorized that location-based search websites deliver better cost-per-call value than general search for small businesses but no one had ever seriously studied the issue," said Altman Vilandrie & Company Director Jonathan Hurd, who oversaw the survey. "While there are a variety of other factors that small businesses need to consider before developing a local advertising strategy, the study shows a clear potential for better value by including YP ads in an overall campaign."